


After Party

by blakefancier



Series: Young Lovers [49]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2788295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve attends the Stark Industries Christmas party and has a blast. The after party isn't quite what he expected though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Party

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the December 17th fic I kept talking about on my tumblr. Have fun!

Steve watched with bemusement as Howard and Ms. Carter fought for the keys to the Benz. Howard was obviously losing, but he refused to give up.

"Give me the keys, Peggy," he said, darting forward.

She managed to dodge him and dance away, amusement sparkling in her eyes. "Oh, no, I don't think so, Howard. It's snowing and you drive like a maniac."

"I do not drive like a maniac! I happen to be a very safe driver." He crossed his arms over his chest and let out an annoyed huff. Steve could tell he wasn't really upset by the smile tugging at his mouth.

"You're the worst driver that I ever met." Ms. Carter gave him a suspicious look.

Steve rolled his eyes and turned to Mr. Jarvis, who had just entered the room carrying two garment bags. "Are those our suits? Here, I can take them and put them in the car." 

"Very good, sir." Mr. Jarvis handed them over. 

"My mom was sorry you couldn't make it to Thanksgiving this year, but I told her you had a standing get together with your ex-pat friends." Steve worried at his bottom lip. "You should come to next year's though." 

Mr. Jarvis stilled a moment. "Thank you. I will… consider the invitation when I make my plans for next year."

Steve grinned at him and patted his arm. Then he looked back over at Howard and Ms. Carter. 

Howard held out his hand. "I'm the boss and it's my car." 

Ms. Carter let out a deep sigh and dropped the keys into his waiting hand. "Do try to drive at a safe speed, Howard. For Steve's sake, if not for mine."

"Oh, relax, Peggy. If it gets too scary, just lie back and think of England." Howard wasn't fast enough to sidestep her hand when she smacked the side of his head.

Howard made her sit in the back.

***** 

"You're an arse," Ms. Carter said as they pulled up to a house that was even larger than the mansion back home. A layer of snow covered the roof of the house, the ground, and the evergreens in the distance; it looked like a postcard or snow globe.

Howard laughed. "Hey, Steve seemed to enjoy the ride."

Ms. Carter gave them both a sour look. "Yes, I'm sure that's something you say quite often."

Steve blinked, surprised by her words, and then blushed, which only made Howard laugh even harder. A moment later, the front door opened and Annie, Howard's personal assistant, came out to greet them. They quickly got out of the car. "Hey, Annie, how's everything going?"

"Good, Mr. Stark. Everything is on schedule." Annie gave Steve a smile and took the garment bags from him. "I'll put these in your room upstairs. Did you want to take a look at the set up?"

"In a bit. I wanted to show Steve the grounds first. Why don’t you escort Peggy to the kitchen and get her something fortifying to drink." Before Ms. Carter could protest, Howard turned to Steve and grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket. "C'mon, this way."

Steve followed along happily, soaking in the atmosphere. "This place is great! I didn’t think you owned anything bigger than the mansion."

"We own about 200 acres," Howard said, clasping Steve's gloved hand in his. "My grandfather was born and raised on this land. When he made his first million, he bought up as much of the surrounding area as he could, built a house for his parents and…" He shrugged. "When my father dies, it'll go to me." 

"It looks like a postcard." Steve let out a small gasp when he saw the barn. "Is that...? You have horses?" He pulled Howard along the uneven ground, their feet sliding on the snow.

"They're my mother's. She loves riding. Tried to get me and Eddie into it, but, well, I prefer machines and Eddie…" Howard sighed; they both knew what Eddie liked. 

Steve released Howard's hand when they entered the barn, letting Howard greet the stable hands. "They have curly hair!"

"They're American Bashkir's." Howard sidled up to him and gave him a few sugar cubes. "The fastest way to their hearts is bribery."

Steve held out his hand to the horse in the closest stall. It walked over to him and took the sugar, crunching it noisily. When it was done, it sniffed his hand, then his hair. He giggled and let it whuff at him. He stroked its neck and sighed. "It's beautiful. They're all beautiful."

"Yeah," Howard said softly, looking at Steve with a small smile on his face.

"What?" Steve nudged him. 

"There's a pond on the grounds, too. It's usually pretty well frozen by January. Maybe we could come back then, go ice skating."

"That sounds like fun." Steve glanced at Howard. "Is that why we're here super early? So you could show this place off?"

Howard put his arm around Steve's waist and cleared his throat; Steve leaned into him. "In part. I thought you might like it here. My grandfather was an artist. In his own way."

"So are you," Steve said softly, knowing that Howard didn't feel that way. 

"Well, anyway, usually my mother handles the Christmas party, but since my dad caught that cold, I figured that I'd let her off the hook and give us a bit of time out of the city. Especially since you'll be leaving in a few days.

Steve made a face at Howard's words. "So your mother's not coming tonight?"

"Oh, she'll show up, if only to criticize my handing of the party, but she'll only stay for an hour or two." The horse nudged Howard's chest and he laughed, rubbing its nose. "Greedy," he said fondly, reaching into his pocket to pull out a few more sugar cubes. "Save the rest for the others." 

When they'd spoiled all the horses, and Steve had learned their names, they made the precarious trip to the pond, which was iced over. Steve took Howard's hand and stood there quietly imagining what it might be like to live in this place, to go ice-skating surrounded by trees and silence. 

"I'm starting to lose feeling in my face and my toes. We should head in," Howard said, giving Steve's fingers a squeeze. 

"Yeah, okay." Steve turned away reluctantly. He was a little surprised by how much he loved this place already, how it struck something deep inside him. "Can we really come back here next month?"

"Of course. I said so, didn't I?" There was a wistful smile on Howard's face.

"Are you okay?" It struck Steve that Howard's memories of Richford probably weren't happy ones. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just forget how beautiful it is up here, that’s all." 

"Oh." Steve cupped Howard's face and gave him a tender kiss. "Your mouth is cold."

"Mmm, so's yours." He drew Steve in for another kiss.

Steve laughed. "You've got frost on your mustache."

"So help me melt it off."

"Okay," Steve murmured. 

***** 

When they made it back to the house, their clothes were soaked through, their teeth were chattering, and Steve couldn’t stop smiling. Annie greeted them with hot drinks and a list of things for Howard to sign off on. A few minutes later, Annie whisked Howard away and Steve sighed.

"Nice time?" Ms. Carter asked from the kitchen table. 

Steve sat across from her, his mug of hot chocolate cradled in his hands. "He showed me the horses and the pond and his grandfather's original house." The building had been even smaller than the apartment he shared with his mom. He took a sip of his drink. "Have you been up here often?"

"Not too often. And only for security purposes." She gave him a once over. "You should change out of those clothes. You're going to catch a cold. And you might want to cover that love bite on your neck."

Steve reached up to touch the tender spot on his throat and blushed. "Oh, yeah."

Ms. Carter chuckled, shaking her head. "Incorrigible."

He wasn't sure if she meant him or Howard, but he supposed it didn't matter.

***** 

A few hours later, Steve was getting ready for the party: he took a quick shower, shaved, styled his hair, and then dressed. He fumbled with the bowtie, but he couldn't quite get it right so he wandered over to Howard's room.

Howard was sitting on the bed, shining his shoes with a cloth. He looked up when Steve entered and smiled.

Oh! Steve's breath caught in his throat. "You look gorgeous."

"You're not so bad yourself," Howard said, his voice warm with amusement. "Need some help with that bowtie?"

"Yeah." Steve stepped close and handed Howard the bowtie.

"Okay, you gotta stop looking at me like that, babe." Howard got to his feet and began to expertly put the bowtie on Steve. 

"Look at you like what?" Steve bit his lower lip and tried to look innocent.

"Like you're going to shove me back on the bed and have your wicked way with me. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but I have to greet our guests as they come in." Howard nodded and stepped away. "There, you're all done."

He brushed his fingers down the lapels of Howard's jacket. "I can't help it. You look really, really hot in tuxedos."

"Down, boy. I'll wear a tux for New Year's and you can do whatever you want with me then."

"Promises, promises, Mr. Stark." Steve leaned in for a quick kiss that became a little more involved than anticipated, but eventually, Howard pulled away. 

"Out, now."

Steve laughed all the way back to his room.

***** 

Two hours later and the party was in full swing. Steve felt like he'd gone down the rabbit hole because he'd just had a conversation about modern art with a congressman and a Kennedy and he wasn't sure exactly how that happened. He knew that Tony was around somewhere, but it wasn't easy to find anyone with all the people milling about. 

He sipped his champagne, ate the little shrimp canapés he liked so much, and tried to look like he belonged at the party and wasn't some stupid hanger on of Tony's.

When he'd finished a whole tray of the canapés, he made his way towards the dance floor to watch the band and see who had two left feet. He was a little tipsy, but somehow that made everything all right. He hummed under his breath and nodded along to the song when he felt a hand on the small of his back. He turned slightly and smiled. 

"There you are," Howard said. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Well, here I am." Steve's itched to straighten Howard's tie, but he worried that it might look too intimate. 

"Dance with me." Howard tugged him onto the dance floor before he could protest. 

He stumbled along for a bit, before he caught the rhythm. "Everyone is looking at us."

"Of course they are. You're dancing with the guy throwing the party." Howard grinned. "I'm kind of a big deal around here."

"Yeah? Well, lucky me." He wanted to lay his head on Howard's shoulder and just sway with him, but it wasn't that sort of party. 

"I think that's my line." Howard's hand tightened on Steve's hip. "Are you having a nice time?"

"The best." Steve grinned so hard his face hurt; he must look like an idiot.

"Good, then maybe next year you'll be my date."

Steve's breath caught in his throat. "Maybe. If I don't have any better offers." Howard laughed and Steve wanted desperately to kiss him, but of course, that wasn't possible. Next year, though, next year, Steve wouldn't stop touching Howard. Not for a second. 

***** 

The last person didn't leave until a little after one in the morning. By then, Steve was exhausted and his feet hurt. Tony was upstairs, sleeping off too much champagne, Annie was slumped in a chair, and Howard was talking quietly to Stane in the corner. 

"He's drunk," Ms. Carter said, sidling up to Steve as they both watched Howard sway on his feet.

"Yeah, I wish we could stay here tonight, but Howard promised my mom I'd be home by morning." 

"Then let's get you home." Ms. Carter squared her shoulders and strode over; Steve trailed behind her. 

Howard gave up the keys without a fight, though he was pretty damn handsy when Steve helped him into the car—shotgun—and got the seatbelt on him. Steve didn't really mind the backseat. If he sat in the middle, he could prop his foot on the middle of the console and look out the window. It was snowing pretty badly, but the tires had chains and Ms. Carter was an extremely capable person. 

"Take the back way," Howard slurred, when they pulled onto the road. "It's faster. We gotta get Steve home."

"I will," Ms. Carter said softly. "Now close your eyes and sleep it off."

Howard grunted and a few moments later, he was snoring. 

He gently touched Howard's shoulder and then stared out the windshield at the road. Before he knew it, his eyes grew heavy and he let them fall closed.

*****

Steve woke to the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass, his body jerked violently this way, then that. Suddenly up was down and someone was screaming and agony shot up his right leg.

He thought maybe he was the one who was screaming, but he wasn't sure. 

Then everything went dark.

***** 

It was snowing. Steve could feel the flakes drift down onto his face. He realized, then, that was cold. Very, very cold and that his leg hurt. Well, everything hurt, but his leg hurt the worst. 

He slowly opened his eyes; it took a while for his eyes to focus, and even then comprehension was slow. He looked around at the wreckage of the car, of Howard and Ms. Carter slumped over their air bags, and his eyes filled with tears. 

It was cold and dark and he hurt and… and… and he didn't know what happened. What happened? He wiped frantically at his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. It didn't matter what had happened. What mattered now was getting help. 

"Howard? Ms. Carter?" Neither responded, and so Steve slowly inched forward, gritting his teeth, eyes watering, as his leg painfully protested. Once he got close enough, he peered at them; there was a lot of blood. He tried checking for pulses, but his hands shook so much from cold and fear, that he couldn't… he couldn't…

Steve leaned back, choking back his sobs, terror making his chest hurt. "Someone help us," he yelled. "Please, help! Help!" He screamed until his throat hurt and he was too tired to cry. He knew he needed to do something, but his head felt full of cotton.

He wondered if maybe he was in shock. 

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath; it was starting to snow even harder now and it was getting colder. He needed to call for help. He…

Oh! God, he was stupid. He looked through his pockets, then around the seat, but he couldn’t find his cell phone. He screamed with frustration, tears once again stinging his eyes.

No, God, no, he was not useless. He knew how to deal with emergencies. He could do this. It wasn't just himself he had to take care of; Howard and Ms. Carter needed him. Steve checked Howard's pockets, but he couldn't find a cell phone, so he checked Ms. Carter's. When he found her cell in her coat pocket, he almost cried again.

His hands were shaking even worse now; he was so damn cold, and it took him several tries to punch in 911. "Pick up, pick up," he said softly. "Hurry up and pick up." 

"Carter, you better have a damn good reason for calling me at this time of night."

Steve let out a hysterical laugh. "Nick? Oh God, Nick, is that you?"

"Steve?" Nick sounded so serious. "Why do you have Carter's cell phone?" 

"There was an accident. And I don’t know what happened or where we are, but it's cold and they're hurt and I don't even know if they're alive! Nick, I can't find a pulse and they're not moving." He was crying again and he knew he wasn't making any sense to Nick, but he didn't care. "I think they're dead!" 

"Steve, Steve, calm down." Nick's voice was soft and steady. "I need you to calm down and talk to me. How are you doing?"

"My leg hurts and it's really cold and I'm tired. I just want to close my eyes and sleep." 

"You can't do that. You know you can't do that. Steve, there's a GPS in Carter's phone; I'm sending emergency vehicles to you, so I need you to hold on. Stay awake so you can tell them what's going on."

"I know, but I'm tired. Nick, what if they're dead? What if… My mom is going to be so mad at me." It was snowing really hard, Steve almost couldn't see what was in front of him. "I don't think I'm going to make it home by morning."

"Steve—"

"I just need to close my eyes for a little bit." Steve couldn’t hold the phone any longer; it dropped from his hands. He closed his eyes and slurred out, "Just a little bit."

**Author's Note:**

> Bwaha! 
> 
> Bwahahahahaha! 
> 
> BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
> 
> Don't hate me too much.


End file.
